New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought a response from the Union government, the CBFC and producers of the upcoming Hindi film 'Suryaa: Ant Se Aarambh Tak' on a plea alleging that the movie portrays doctors in private hospitals as corrupt and encourages violence against healthcare professionals.
Sunny Deol-starrer film is scheduled to be released in theatres on November 20.
Justice Amit Mahajan issued notice to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, film producer M M Moviez and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited on the petition filed by a group of doctors.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on November 16. Advocate Varun Singh, representing the petitioners, urged the court to stay the display of the film teaser. However, the court did not pass any order on it.
The petition, filed by four doctors, including office bearers of DOCS (Doctors of Corporate Society), said it has been filed due to inaction of authorities in respect of the movie teaser and that the threat posed by such unverifiable and defamatory content is not speculative.
By promoting violence against frontline healthcare workers, who already face attacks from disgruntled family members of patients while supporting the nation's healthcare infrastructure, the teaser creates a real danger to doctors in corporate hospitals, it said.
The plea cited media reports to say that the film is a Hindi adaptation of the Malayalam film 'Joseph', which was released on November 16, 2018, and was directed by the same director, M Padmakumar. 'Joseph' tells the story of a retired police officer who uncovers a racket that harvests organs through brain-stem death certification in a private hospital, it said.
The petition has been filed by Dr Nishant Soni, Dr Ashish Tomar, Dr Ravi Bhatia and Dr Shivam Vatsal who practise at different corporate hospitals.
It has sought directions to the authorities to examine the teaser and take appropriate action under the Cinematograph Act and the Information Technology Act.
The plea has also sought the removal or blocking of the teaser from online platforms until it is examined by the competent authorities.
The doctors have contended that the teaser, released on October 19 on the YouTube channel of Zee Music Company, presents its storyline as being "inspired by unbelievable true events" and the "shocking truth" about the medical system, despite allegedly being based on a fictional narrative.
The petitioners have alleged that the teaser depicts a private hospital obtaining consent for the donation of a young woman's organs following brain-stem death certification and accuses doctors of overcharging patients, prescribing unnecessary tests and taking commissions.
They also referred to comments posted by viewers under the teaser, which allegedly contain threats and calls for violence against members of the medical profession.
They have sought a direction to the authorities to examine the film and its promotional material, make necessary modifications or excisions, and require a disclaimer stating that the film is fictional and not based on true events.
The petitioners also sought guidelines to bring online teasers and trailers within the film-certification framework.